New Arena

[BoulderSooner]

If you dont think the administration doesnt pay attention to basketball try softball. I wonder how many national championships we would have to win in order to get (for example) and interview with a new pitching coach? The administration's determination to completely ignore the softball program in view of its success is embarrassing.

softball is getting a brand new stadium the second new one since the LNC was built

 

[vbdad]

The facilities for the players is as good as it gets. Arena portion is kept up as good as it can be without massive renovation, which ain’t happening.

Football and basketball facilities are getting smaller! Too costly to attend and too comfortable to stay home and watch on big screen TV. Not sure that it will ever trend back to expansion of capacity, beer or no beer.

Tycat I'm sorry but you aren't correct. They are very unhappy with the practice facilities. I haven't heard complaints about the locker rooms etc. I'm sure they are more than anybody could need as were football which are now crazy good.

Unfortunately the arms race in all sports is nuts and will never stop as long as we continue to fund it. However we aren't "as good as it gets" and there isn't much support of the basketball program. Of course when you look at attendance it may not deserve it.

Smaller arenas are the key. They have talked about trying something closer to the main campus which is a nice idea but the students are non participants so who knows if it works. The UPS was great because it wasn't on our dime. It also makes it easier for the OKC folks to go to the games. Who knows if they would but it would be easier plus you could eat before or after the game right there.

 

[BoulderSooner]

Tycat I'm sorry but you aren't correct. They are very unhappy with the practice facilities. I haven't heard complaints about the locker rooms etc. I'm sure they are more than anybody could need as were football which are now crazy good.

Unfortunately the arms race in all sports is nuts and will never stop as long as we continue to fund it. However we aren't "as good as it gets" and there isn't much support of the basketball program. Of course when you look at attendance it may not deserve it.

Smaller arenas are the key. They have talked about trying something closer to the main campus which is a nice idea but the students are non participants so who knows if it works. The UPS was great because it wasn't on our dime. It also makes it easier for the OKC folks to go to the games. Who knows if they would but it would be easier plus you could eat before or after the game right there.

OU has the best college basketball training facility in the country that was just built .. .. it is as good as any NBA teams

 

[coolm]

smaller arena ... on campus ... a short walk from the dorms ... focused on youth and the students. It should be a concert, energetic, youthful atmosphere instead of a "nice for donors" thing like they try to do for football. The dynamic should be focused only between students and the players. It needs to be different than football and thats why OU keeps getting it wrong.

 

[Mackie McNeer]

Tycat I'm sorry but you aren't correct. They are very unhappy with the practice facilities. I haven't heard complaints about the locker rooms etc. I'm sure they are more than anybody could need as were football which are now crazy good.

Unfortunately the arms race in all sports is nuts and will never stop as long as we continue to fund it. However we aren't "as good as it gets" and there isn't much support of the basketball program. Of course when you look at attendance it may not deserve it.

Smaller arenas are the key. They have talked about trying something closer to the main campus which is a nice idea but the students are non participants so who knows if it works. The UPS was great because it wasn't on our dime. It also makes it easier for the OKC folks to go to the games. Who knows if they would but it would be easier plus you could eat before or after the game right there.

Couldn’t agree more. You cut off half an hour of commute time for the OKC folks by building it next to 35. Students will never come en masse to the games so catering to them is wrong-headed. Add in the amenities around the UNP and you have everything you need for a great game day experience.

Hopefully the UNP arena will return under another iteration that Old Normanites can get behind.

 

[coolm]

Students will never come en masse to the games so catering to them is wrong-headed.

That is 100% not true. I've seen otherwise firsthand and been part of that crowd.

This is NOT football. You don't cater to all the grayhairs to "make their saturday experience enjoyable".

 

[Soonerinkc]

Duke - small
KU - on campus

problem is success/attitude.

example KU - football stadium is on campus...they suck, no one goes.

Obviously WE love bball...but I've seen more posts about who gives a crap about basketball on any other OU forum than I care to see.

The MAJORITY of OU fans are football folks. Plain and simple.

I remember Blake's 2nd year, Fball was TT that night, bball was some small school at like 1 or 2 pm. I didn't care I wanted to see Blake and the Sooners in LN...it was a great day I went to both games BUT LN wasn't even close to full...sad.

 

[Soonerinkc]

That is 100% not true. I've seen otherwise firsthand and been part of that crowd.

This is NOT football. You don't cater to all the grayhairs to "make their saturday experience enjoyable".

who was it that said their kids go to OU, love bball....went every time last yr due to TY...but the kids haven't gone this yr one time...

can't remember...it was on another thread (I think).

I agree to not make it for the old donors...but not thinking a ton of OU students would go. Hell, they leave the fball games at halftime and we have had 2 great teams for 2 years.

 

[Mackie McNeer]

That is 100% not true. I've seen otherwise firsthand and been part of that crowd.

This is NOT football. You don't cater to all the grayhairs to "make their saturday experience enjoyable".

It’s 100% true bro, outside of a Blake Griffin and a Buddy Hield year. I’ve been to most every game and seen firsthand.

 

[coolm]

Obviously WE love bball...but I've seen more posts about who gives a crap about basketball on any other OU forum than I care to see.

The MAJORITY of OU fans are football folks. Plain and simple.

We dont need a majority of OU fans to fill a 6,500 seat arena. We need a crapload of students and a few loyal devotees.

It’s 100% true bro, outside of a Blake Griffin and a Buddy Hield year. I’ve been to most every game and seen firsthand.

you're talking about NOW with our crap fan effort and crap marketing and lack of a good vision. I have been an OU student and later an OU fan when the students flocked there. It most certainly can be done.

 

[Soonerinkc]

We dont need a majority of OU fans to fill a 6,500 seat arena. We need a crapload of students and a few loyal devotees.



you're talking about NOW with our crap fan effort and crap marketing and lack of a good vision. I have been an OU student and later an OU fan when the students flocked there. It most certainly can be done.

definitely agree with smaller arena.

I'm sure during Billy Ball...the stands were packed. Trying to think back when I was in school (mid 80's) at ksu ....unfortunately...lol. I did go to the OU game to see Wayman!

Were MOST games on Sat? that might be an issue now...and not on TV like now as well.

 

[coolm]

Were MOST games on Sat? that might be an issue now...and not on TV like now as well.

there's certainly truth to these being factors. I think we can market past them though if we take into account more youthful psychology.

To ME music is always the way to youthful appeal. Put in a DJ. Bring in local groups to do the anthem and play a set at the half or before or after. conduct campus greek and gdi business at the games. hire a concert promoter to be in charge of marketing. focus on youth and students' life. but first move the games out of that monstrosity that is LNC and into a smaller, more intimate and balmy setting.

 

[SoonerTraveler]

43 Years Ago ... Lloyd Noble Center opened in 1975.

Challenge for message board historians ... I wonder when the first thread was started about a new arena. Widespread development of LANS, PCs and workstations unfolded in the 1980s, and this allowed the budding Internet to flourish. My guess is that the very first "new arena" thread dates back to the late 1980s when the LNC was little more than 10 years old.

Hundred or More ... I feel safe in typing with accuracy that there have been at least a hundred "new arena threads" on OU Basketball message boards over the years. I cannot say that it has been as many as 200, as that would have been an average of 6 threads a year.

So What? ... Hey, we are human. I like to "beat a dead horse" as much as the next person. I will continue to read these threads. So far, after some decades, those that have posted the following statement have been 100% accurate ...

Its not happening.

Based on available evidence, I believe tycat is correct.

Yep, not happening.

Doesn’t really have anything to do with paying attention to basketball. There just isn’t money for this. I seriously doubt football stadium is ever completed as envisioned and same with softball. It’s going to be a long time out before significant athletic projects are started again.

The dirty secret is that the number of OU football donors has declined in recent years. OU has significantly raised the required donation for premium seats at the Football stadium, and now the formally sold-out donor sections have plenty of seats available. (@@) OU is now forced to sell these as individual game tickets, although you generally have to be a donor to have access to these donation-free donor section tickets (I bought some last season). OU also sells football tickets directly on Stubhub, both in and out of the donor sections.

Student support for all athletic events is on the decline, as many young people would rather watch content on their phone and not put out the effort of actually going to a game. At football games, the student section is rarely full and it begins to empty out before halftime. At the LNC, OU has begun to offer tickets in the student section to the general public at cut-rate prices.

A new basketball arena? It probably will take one of us to win the lottery for it to happen. Otherwise, we will likely see hundreds more threads just like this one in the coming years.

Arena size? Arena Location? Its all academic. Its not happening.

(@@) .. If you want a good football season ticket, call the Sooner Club and write a big check. They will be happy to help you out.

 

[coolm]

I remember LNC complaint threads on the OU Homer board so that would put them at what - 1995?

 

[SoonerTraveler]

I remember LNC complaint threads on the OU Homer board so that would put them at what - 1995?

Your memory is better than mine. I just remember that I have been viewing various OU basketball boards for a long, long time.

 

[coolm]

Your memory is better than mine. I just remember that I have been viewing various OU basketball boards for a long, long time.

agreed. I have been on OU basketball boards ever since (and including) that OU Homer board. Seen a lot of fans come and go.

 

[Sooner04]

It's much easier to track facebook/instagram/twitter/tinder, etc. from the dorms with better wifi than it is from your seat at the LNC. Student demographics and participation have changed considerably. I'm not sure you can ever hope to get the students back unless we experience long-term BIG winning.

In other news, we have more students now from Texas than ever before. They don't grow up Sooners, they come to school, and they go back to Texas when they're done. They'll make a football game or two, and they'll come out to see the team in Dallas or Houston, but they're not coming to Norman in the winter.

I would love to see an extensive renovation of the Field House with a capacity of 7,500 or so. Make it a barn. But there is no money. I mean ZERO money. Boren shot for the moon with the residential colleges and they have thus far been an albatross. It's going to take a while to dig out of it.

The LNC was spearheaded by a million dollar donation from the Nobles of Ardmore. It's going to take a hell of a lot more than that to get a new arena project underway. Don't hold your breath on $45 oil.

 

[tycat947]

softball is getting a brand new stadium the second new one since the LNC was built

We’ll see if this $22M structure gets built. I have my doubts.

 

[tycat947]

43 Years Ago ... Lloyd Noble Center opened in 1975.

Challenge for message board historians ... I wonder when the first thread was started about a new arena. Widespread development of LANS, PCs and workstations unfolded in the 1980s, and this allowed the budding Internet to flourish. My guess is that the very first "new arena" thread dates back to the late 1980s when the LNC was little more than 10 years old.

Hundred or More ... I feel safe in typing with accuracy that there have been at least a hundred "new arena threads" on OU Basketball message boards over the years. I cannot say that it has been as many as 200, as that would have been an average of 6 threads a year.

So What? ... Hey, we are human. I like to "beat a dead horse" as much as the next person. I will continue to read these threads. So far, after some decades, those that have posted the following statement have been 100% accurate ...

Its not happening.

Based on available evidence, I believe tycat is correct.



The dirty secret is that the number of OU football donors has declined in recent years. OU has significantly raised the required donation for premium seats at the Football stadium, and now the formally sold-out donor sections have plenty of seats available. (@@) OU is now forced to sell these as individual game tickets, although you generally have to be a donor to have access to these donation-free donor section tickets (I bought some last season). OU also sells football tickets directly on Stubhub, both in and out of the donor sections.

Student support for all athletic events is on the decline, as many young people would rather watch content on their phone and not put out the effort of actually going to a game. At football games, the student section is rarely full and it begins to empty out before halftime. At the LNC, OU has begun to offer tickets in the student section to the general public at cut-rate prices.

A new basketball arena? It probably will take one of us to win the lottery for it to happen. Otherwise, we will likely see hundreds more threads just like this one in the coming years.

Arena size? Arena Location? Its all academic. Its not happening.

(@@) .. If you want a good football season ticket, call the Sooner Club and write a big check. They will be happy to help you out.

I agree. People are staying home in droves at all schools and all sports. There are a few exceptions.

Cost is too high for all but just a few people and almost all games are televised and almost everyone has a big screen TV at home and/or a tablet/smartphone to watch or follow along while doing something else. I don’t see this changing.

 

[vbdad]

OU has the best college basketball training facility in the country that was just built .. .. it is as good as any NBA teams

The new weight room is great! The practice facilities are subpar!